In 2019, Markswebb helped a major universal bank develop a new business card product. The previous business card did not meet the bank’s expectations for activation rates and available digital functions. The new product needed to incorporate the team's existing experience and combine the best market practices.
Markswebb’s role involved creating a Customer Journey Map (CJM), identifying barriers in the customer experience, and studying prototypes of new interfaces. Based on the insights gained and best market practices, the researchers proposed solutions that formed the foundation of the new digital card for entrepreneurs and helped improve the service.
As a result, the use of the product was automated end-to-end - from the remote opening of the digital card to the issuance of additional plastic companion cards. By the fall of 2020, a year after the project started, sales of the new corporate cards had increased tenfold.
Contents
The project began with studying the Customer Journey Map (CJM) of card opening. It was necessary to understand how market leaders structure the process, whether the customer journey in the bank meets the overall quality standards, what barriers exist in the process, and how to eliminate them.
As benchmarks, we selected four leading banks in the small and medium-sized business services segment. The research was conducted using the mystery shopper method: in each bank, we ordered a card through the online bank and the app, checked all ordering options, documented the steps, and created CJMs.
This provided a comprehensive understanding of the client experience, their tasks and barriers, and the best practices of market leaders.
Based on the CJMs, researchers created a universal benchmark for assessing the process. The metric considered the overall timing of receiving the card, the cost of the service, the number of contacts with the bank, the variability of application channels, and the methods of card receipt. Special attention was given to how banks optimize the process - for example, whether they issue a card by default when opening a checking account. All this was used to describe the ideal CJM for opening a business card.
Comparing the ideal path with the client's bank CJM revealed that the good impression from free issuance and simple online ordering could be spoiled by subsequent communications due to the long wait for card delivery and activation. The proposed improvements were:
1. Provide information about the card product and order stages in the personal account and product showcase At the beginning of the journey, the client lacked transparent information about the product and the issuance stages, leading them to frequently contact a manager for help. This created a more complex path for the client and increased the workload on managers and support. Clear descriptions should simplify the order process: users will find the card more easily, understand its benefits, and know what to do at each issuance stage.
2. Change the special card account opening stage In early 2020, a client could only order a corporate card after opening a special card account. Researchers suggested integrating this procedure into the overall process and automatically opening the special card account along with the checking account. This recommendation optimized the client journey: the bank combined the card and account opening processes, allowing clients to proceed directly to the card issuance application without noticing the separate account opening procedure.
3. Improve the application convenience and offer courier delivery While the bank accepted card issuance applications through the app and online banking, the form itself could be made more user-friendly. The bank's team developed a more convenient application form with autofill features and added the option to choose the delivery method. This increased application conversion rates in the early stages of the process: clients now quickly complete the application stage without losing interest in the card.
4. Implement remote card activation Previously, to activate the card, entrepreneurs had to find an ATM—a significant barrier to using the product. With remote activation through digital channels, entrepreneurs can start making transactions earlier, maintaining their motivation to use the business card. The bank's team addressed card activation uniquely: digital cards, which are prioritized in digital channels, are active immediately. Physical companion cards are delivered by couriers already activated, making the activation stage practically invisible to the client.
In the next project phase, it was necessary to determine which corporate card management features should be available in digital channels: what is currently in demand and what adds additional value.
To identify best practices, digital products of leading banks were re-examined. Researchers followed specific user scenarios in each channel, such as "issuing an additional card" or "setting a limit." Simultaneously, they created a set of attributes to evaluate the completeness of corporate card management. This helped assess current services and prototypes of new online banking interfaces, leading to recommendations that helped developers prioritize features.
As a result, the bank's team developed a more convenient application form with autofill functionality and added the option to choose the delivery method. This increased the conversion of applications in the early stages of the process, as customers quickly completed the application stage without losing interest in the card.
With remote activation in the digital channel, entrepreneurs can start making transactions earlier, thereby maintaining motivation to use the business card. In digital channels, the digital card takes priority, and it is active immediately. Physical companion cards are also delivered activated. Thus, the activation stage is almost unnoticed by the customer.
New features in digital channels also keep users engaged: card information, product management, additional capabilities. To find the best practices, digital products of leading banks were examined again.
In each channel, researchers went through specific user scenarios, such as "issuing an additional card" or "setting a limit." At the same time, they formed a pool of attributes to assess the completeness of corporate card management. Using this, they evaluated existing services and prototypes of new online banking interfaces and developed recommendations to help developers prioritize.
During the search for best practices, we used ready-made checklists from previous studies of mobile and online banking. This would have simplified the selection of references but limited understanding of the relevance of features. Going beyond the standard methodology helped formulate more evaluation criteria and understand the role of different functions in creating the customer experience.
The only way is to create additional value for customers, as it creates competitive advantages for the service. Markswebb researchers suggested adding the formation of advance reports for the corporate card, changing the payment purpose, setting up expense types, and providing card details in the personal account. These capabilities will allow entrepreneurs to fully use the card product in digital form and make payments without relying on a physical carrier.
Implementing all the recommendations helped the bank offer its B2B customers a highly competitive card product that provides the best user experience for entrepreneurs.
The research insights helped the product team establish the main direction for product development: a full-fledged digital business card combining the best practices of remote services with the ability to issue additional plastic cards for employees. One of the main advantages of the product is its convenience and quick issuance—you can order the card in the app and start using it within minutes.
The improvement in service quality impacted sales: by the end of 2020, the number of issued cards increased tenfold. Today, over 30,000 B2B clients use the product for travel expenses, fuel payments, and business transactions.
The project also influenced the public ratings of the client bank. Results from the 2019-2020 wave studies of the Business Mobile Banking Rank and Business Online Banking Rank showed that the level of meeting criteria for corporate cards in the mobile bank doubled, and in the online bank, it increased fivefold.
This case study demonstrates how a detailed understanding of the customer journey, competitive benchmarking, and UX improvements can significantly enhance a bank’s business card offering. By focusing on key areas such as conversion rates, user activation, and added value, the project led to a substantial increase in sales and user satisfaction, positioning the bank as a market leader in business card services.
Every year we conduct up to 15 studies of digital services. These are industry benchmarks that reflect the state of the market and trends.
